SAUGERTIES, N.Y. -- The town will bring in an additional $400,000 in property taxes next year to pay for the state-mandated Safety Net welfare program.

At a meeting Wednesday, the Town Board unanimously adopted a resolution to exceed the state's property tax cap and another to amend the town budget for 2013. The second resolution authorizes a $400,000 increase in the town's general fund property tax levy to fund Safety Net expenses that were not included in the 2013 budget that was adopted Nov. 19.

"It's something that we're forced to do," said town Supervisor Kelly Myers. "At this point, it's not an option."

Myers said the board did not need to hold a public hearing to exceed the state tax cap because it held one Nov. 7.

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Councilman Fred Costello said the town faced the prospect of running out of money by November 2013 if it did not amend the budget.

The budget adopted last month authorized $16,515,261 in total spending for 2013, an increase of $339,066, or 2.1 percent, from the 2012 total of $16,176,195.

The plan called for $12,094,590 to be generated by property taxes, an increase of $310,052, or 2.6 percent, over the current tax levy of $11,784,538. With the amendment, the town will raise $12,494,590 in property taxes in 2013, an increase of $710,052, or 6 percent, over the 2012 level.

The total budget includes special districts for water and sewer services, among others, which are funded through user fees.

Ulster County's towns and the city of Kingston pay into Safety Net based on how many participants in the program live in each community. Ulster is the only county in the state that passes the local share of the state program's cost on to municipalities, but it is working to assume that cost within three years.

In the past, if a town failed to pay its Safety Net bill, Ulster County would collect the money through a "relevy" on the following year's county property tax bills. County Executive Michael Hein has said that practice will end and that towns that do not pay their bills could face having their share of county sales tax revenues withheld.

The 2012 Saugerties town budget also did not include spending for Safety Net.

Myers, who was not supervisor when the 2012 budget was adopted, said the action taken by the board on Wednesday will cover the town's Safety Net expenses for the current year and next. She acknowledged that it was a "big chunk" of money.

Councilwoman Leeanne Thornton said amending the 2013 budget was the best of three options the town's accountant presented to deal with the Safety Net issue.

"The way the law is set, the bill has to be paid," Thornton said.

Burton Gulnick Jr., Ulster County's commissioner of finance, said recently that 19 of the county's 20 towns -- all but Saugerties -- complied with their 2012 Safety Net bills for 2013. Gulnick said the county held off on creating tax bills for Saugerties property owners until it was notified the town might amend its budget to include the Safety Net expense.

During Wednesday's Town Board meeting, county Legislature Chairwoman Terry Bernardo addressed residents as part of her ongoing tour of local municipalities, and the conversation turned to the Safety Net issue.

Bernardo, R-Accord, noted the state used to pick up 50 percent of the Safety Net cost but recently shifted the burden so that local governments pay 71 percent.

She said Hein decided to no longer relevy unpaid town Safety Net bills in order to prevent the amount from affecting the county's tax cap.